New homes and housing development in Preston
Looking up new homes in Preston? Most search results push estate agents and developer brochures. This page is the other half of the picture: how housing pressure lands on Preston and North Hertfordshire when homes are bolted onto villages without the water, grid, surgeries, schools or transport to match.
Across North Hertfordshire, the government wants to build 1,036 homes a year. Sustained for thirty years, that is about 31,080 homes — +51% on existing stock in North Hertfordshire.
Spread across the 23 settlements in North Hertfordshire, that is an average of 45 homes a year per settlement — about 1,351 over thirty years if growth were even.
When homes arrive in Preston, they almost always arrive as a bolt-on: a field at a time, each application too small to trigger the reservoir, the substation, the surgery or the station. That is the pattern we are against.
What we've got now
7,655
hours of sewage spills in North Hertfordshire in 2025
Worst at Markyate Wastewater Treatment Works
2,255
patients per GP in North Hertfordshire
0 MW
still waiting to connect to the grid
At Rye House
33.6s
delay per mile on A-roads in Hertfordshire
Worst on the A4178
Now they want another 31,080 homes across North Hertfordshire.
Planning applications near Preston
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Common questions about new homes in Preston
- Are there new homes planned in Preston?
- Medium and large planning applications near Preston appear on this page when available. The government wants to build 1,036 homes a year across North Hertfordshire — about 31,080 homes over thirty years if that rate is sustained.
- How many new homes could North Hertfordshire see over 30 years?
- The government starting point is about 1,036 homes a year in North Hertfordshire, or roughly 31,080 over thirty years (+51% on existing stock). That drives scattered edge-of-village growth unless infrastructure is planned first.
- Why does new housing in Preston matter for infrastructure?
- When homes arrive as bolt-on estates — a field at a time — each application is often too small to fund a reservoir, substation, surgery or station. Capacity is consumed without city-scale infrastructure ever being built. That is the pattern Stop Urban Sprawl campaigns against.
- How can I object to sprawl around Preston?
- Use the planning tracker for live applications in North Hertfordshire, respond to consultations on the council portal, and sign the Stop Urban Sprawl petition calling for infrastructure-first growth instead of scattering houses across every village.
Nearby in North Hertfordshire
Housing pressure rarely stops at the parish boundary.
It's clear that even our current infrastructure is struggling. Sign the petition to stop the urban sprawl around Preston.
Back to North Hertfordshire · Planning tracker · How to stop urban sprawl · Petition
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